Double photograph identification card

ABSTRACT

An identification card is disclosed which consists of a laminated plastic structure having a double-sided photograph embedded within it. The card includes identification information as well as a pattern or design, printed on the back or inner surface of transparent overlay panels which are laminated over either side of a core panel carrying the double-sided photograph. The use of the double-sided photograph together with the printing on the inner surface of the overlay panels provides the completed card with a substantial resistance to tampering.

C Umted States Patent 11 1 [111 3,755,935

Annenberg 1 1 Sept. 4, 1973 DOUBLE PHOTOGRAPH IDENTIFICATION 3,245,6974/1966 QARD 3,457,661 7/1969 3,279,826 10/1966 [75] Inventor: MauriceAnnenberg, Pikesville, Md. 3 31 517 97;

[73] Assignee: Maran Plastic Company, Baltimore,

Primary ExaminerRobert W. Michell Assistant ExaminerWenceslao J.Contreras [221 Flled- May 1971 Att0rney0bl0n, Fisher & Spivak [21] Appl.No.: 148,019

[57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. 40/2.2 An idemification card is disclosedwhich consists of a [5 l] [11(- CI. G09f 3/02 laminated plasticstructure having a d0ub|e sided Ph() [58] Field of Search 40/2.2, I52,100, tograph embedded within it The card includes identifi 4O/l58 159;283/7 cation information as well as a pattern or design, printed on theback or inner surface of transparent [56] Re'erences Cited overlaypanels which are laminated over either side of UNITED STATES PATENTS acore panel carrying the double'sided photograph. 2,780,015 2 1957Whitehead 40 2.2 The use of the double-Sided P g p together with3,566,521 3/1971 Conner 40/2.2 the printing on the inner surface of theoverlay panels 2,506,509 5/1950 Kratkowski. 40/152 provides thecompleted card with a substantial resis- 2,588,067 3/1952 Whitehead.40/2.2 tance to tampering 2,984,030 5/1961 l-lannon 40/2.2 3,048,6978/1962 Cavanaugh et a1. 283/7 X 6 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures NAME llL1.\Mmu LLLiIilHM 1 W (Mum MQ B'S WT mill...

ADDREQS J m/0w 51cm M01111 New ATHORIZAT N NENIEUW 5 3.755335 YE mull sw 516M hnlna m:mm

\ Imam-L) INVENTOR MAURICE ANNENBERG BY .4 gf m ATTORNEYS DOUBLEPHOTOGRAPH IDENTIFICATION CARD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field ofthe Invention This invention relates generally to identification cards,and more particularly to an identification card including a double-sidedphotograph.

2. Description of the Prior Art As modern society becomes more and morecomplicated, the use of identification cards both for the purpose ofgaining admission to various restricted areas and for use in makingcredit purchases has become extremely widespread. Due to the resultinglywidespread reliance on identification cards as a means of identifyingtheir users, a need has developed to construct identification cards soas to prevent dishonest individuals from altering them. This need hasbeen felt increasingly strongly in recent years due to the large numberof fraudulent purchases which have been made with altered identificationor credit cards.

At present, nearly all identification cards include a photograph as thechief means of identifying the individual who is rightfully entitled tocarry the identification card. Thus, the prime object of dishonestpersons in altering identification cards is to remove the photographs ofthe legitimate holders of the credit cards and substitute photographs ofthemselves. Such alteration of previously available identification cardshas not been a particularly complicated procedure. The dishonest personor thief ordinarily cuts through the overlay portion of the credit cardaround the photograph, removes the photograph, inserts a photograph ofhimself and replaces the overlay portion. When this procedure iscompleted neatly, it is very difficult for an ordinary individual todetermine whether or not the card has been altered. Consequently, thereis a need to provide a photograph bearing identification card structurewhich cannot be altered without total mutilation or destructionof thecard, or at least without so severely damaging the card that observationof the fact that the card has been altered would be obvious.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, one object of this invention is toprovide a novel structure for an indentification card bearing aphotographic likeness.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a novelidentification card structure including a doublesided photographiclikeness.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improvedidentification card structure which cannot be altered without totaldestruction of the card.

Yet another object of the instant invention is to pro vide a plasticidentification card which is highly resistant to tampering.

Briefly, these and other objects of the invention are achieved bymounting a double-sided photograph in a plastic core structure.Transparent overlay panels having information and a special printedpattern printed on the inner surfaces thereof are then laminated to thecore structure containing the photographs such that the printedinformation and the printed pattern are juxtaposed to the surface of thephotographs. The entire structure is then laminated together to form ahigher tamper resistant identification card.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A more complete appreciation of theinvention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readilyappreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to thefollowing detailed description when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded side view of the identification card of thepresent invention; and,

FIG. 2 is a top view of the identification card of the present inventionillustrating the manner in which printed information is applied to thecard.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawingswherein like reference numerals designate identical or correspondingparts throughout the several views, and more particularly to FIG. 1thereof, the instant invention is shown as including a core panel 10which may be made of a conventional plastic, such as polyvinylchloride.The core panel 10, which is preferably opaque includes a rectangular orsimilarly shaped aperture or well 12 into which the identifyingphotographs are to be placed.

Two small photographs 14 and 16 of the person to be identified by thecard are then obtained. These photographs are preferably identicalalthough they need not be, and are preferably in color, although theymay also be black and white photographs. Photograph 14 includes aphotographic image 18 on itsupper or outer surface and a piece ofphotographic or backing paper 20 on its inner surface. Similarly,photograph 16 includes a photographic image 24 on tis outer surface anda piece of photographic or backing paper 22 on its inner surface. Oncethe two photographs 14 and 16 are obtained and cut to the proper size sothat they can fit into aperture or well 12, they are glued togetherusing a suitable adhesive or sufficient strength such that the twophotographs cannot be separated without completely destroying both ofthem. The glue is applied to either photographic backing paper 20 orphotographic backing paper 22, or both such that the two photographs areglued together back-to-back with the photographic image portions 18 and24 facing outward. Once so assembled, the photographs 14 .and 16 may bepositioned in the aperture or well 12 of core panel 10. A pattern ordesign such as a signature guide line or some other suitable informationmay be printed on either or both surfaces of core panel 10 if sodesired. An upper overlay panel 26 and a lower overlay panel 28 areprovided for completing the card structure. The overlay panels 26 and 28are preferably made of the same type of plastic as the core panelalthough they are preferably transparent or translucent sheets whichbecome transparent in the course of the laminating operation. The upperoverlay panel includes an outer surface 30 which constitutes one outersurface of the completed card, and an inner surface 32 which abuts onesurface of the core panel 10 as well as the surface of the photographicimage 18. The lower overlay panel includes an outer surface 34 whichconstitutes the other outer surface of the finished card, and an innersurface 36 which abuts the other surface of core panel 10 as well as thephotographic image 24.

A special printing technique is used to imprint additional informationonto the card and to improve its resistance to tampering. This processinvolves printing in reverse on the inner surfaces 32 and 36 of theoverlay panels 26 and 28 respectively. The printing is done in reverseso that it appears oriented in a normal, readable fashion when the cardsurfaces are viewed from the outside in the normal manner. For example,as illustrated in FIG. 2, information such as an individuals name andaddress, etc is illustrated at 38. This information may be printed onthe lower surface 32 of the upper overlay panel 26, for example. Thus,when the card is viewed by an individual looking at the outer surface 30of the upper overlay panel 26, the printing appears to be orientedproperly as shown in FIG. 2. Similarly, a pattern, or a series of fineprint lines may be printed over the entire lower surface 32 of overlaypanel 26 and over the printing 38, or alternatively the pattern may beprinted only over the area of the photographic image 18. These finelines of printing, which may appear to have the nature of a watermarkare illustrated at 40. Any type of design and/or word pattern may beused in the fine line or pattern printing illustrated at 40. Theprinting 40 is preferably light in color so' that it does not rendereither the photograph unrecognizable or the other printing 38unreadable.

The same type of printing as illustrated at 38 and 40 may be done on theinner surface 36 of the lower overlay panel 28. Thus, either a patternor ordinary information may be printed in reverse on the inner surface32 and 36 of both overlay panels 26 and 28 as the need arises.

The ink used in printing the fine or pattern prints 40 may be a specialink that is sensitive, for example to infrared or ultraviolet radiation,or some other suitable type of radiation. The ink may also be invisiblesuch as magnetic ink, or it may contain small amounts of radioactivematerial that is detectable by suitable sensing equipment. However, theink is preferably a type which will adhere to the surfaces ofphotographic images 18 and 24 after the laminating operation. Otherwise,a suitable transparent adhesive must be applied to the surfaces of thephotographic images to make the ink adhere to them. Adherence of the inkto the photographic images improves the resistance of the card totampering, since removal of the photographs then results in removal of aportion of the ink and the printed pattern. Thus, in order toeffectively substitute his own photograph into the card, a tampererwould be required to duplicate the printed ink pattern, including thecolor, and type of ink, or both surfaces of his photographs. Naturally,this would be an extremely difficult task which would strongly tend todiscourage tampering with the card of the present invention.

Once the overlay panels are printed and the photographs are properlyassembled, the card is subjected to a more -or less conventionallaminating operation. For example, the card may be subjected totemperatures in the range of roughly 250F to 275F for a period of fromfive to seven minutes under pressures on the order of 2,000 psi. In thelaminating procedure the upper and lower overlays 26 and 28 arecompletely bonded to the core panel 10, sealing the combined photographs14 and 16 within the completed card. Thus, to alter the completed card,both photographs must be removed, requiring a substantial amount ofstructural damage to be done to the card, further discouraging tamperingwith the card.

Obviously, numerous additional modifications and variations of thepresent invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It istherefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claimsthe invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically describedherein.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

1. An identification card comprising:

an opaque core panel of a particular plastic material including anaperture therethrough, and having first and second principal surfaces;

a double-sided photograph positioned in said aperture;

a transparent first overlay panel also formed of said particular plasticmaterial and having first and second principal surfaces, said secondprincipal surface of said transparent first overlay panel abutting saidfirst principal surface of said core panel and one side of saiddouble-sided photograph, and said first principal surface of said firstoverlay panel forming one exposed surface of said card;

a second overlay panel also formed of said particular plastic materialand having first and second principal surfaces, said second principalsurface of said second overlay panel abutting said second principalsurface of said core panel and the other side of said double-sidedphotograph, and said first principal surface of said second overlaypanel forming the other exposed surface of said card;

a first printed layer, including alphanumeric characters printed in inkin reverse, on said second principal surfaces of at least said firstoverlay panel; and

a second printed layer, including a continuous pattern of charactersprinted in reverse, printed over said first printed layer;

said first and second overlay panels laminated to said core panel toform a substantially solid plastic card structure enclosing saiddouble-sided photograph and said first and second printed layers.

' 2. An identification card as in claim 1 wherein:

said second printed layer is printed with a suitable ink, said ink andsaid second printed layer adhering to at least one surface of saiddouble-sided photograph.

3. An identification card as in claim 2, wherein: said ink is magneticink.

4. An identification card as in claim 2, wherein: said ink isflourescent ink.

5. An identification card as in claim 2, wherein: said ink isradioactive ink.

6. A process for producing an identification card including the stepsof:

providing a core panel;

punching an aperture into said core panel;

assembling two photographs in back-to-back fashion;

inserting said photographs in said aperture;

providing a pair of transparent overlay panels,

printing in reverse with ink alphanumeric characters on one surface ofat least one of said transparent overlay panels,

printing in reverse with ink a continuous pattern of characters oversaid alphanumeric characters,

positioning said transparent overlay panels so that said printed surfacethereof abuts said core panel, and said continuous pattern of charactersoverlies at least one of said assembled photographs; and,

laminating said overlay panels to said core panel to form asubstantially solid plastic card enclosing said assembled photographsand said printing.

1. An identification card comprising: an opaque core panel of aparticular plastic material including an aperture therethrough, andhaving first and second principal surfaces; a double-sided photographpositioned in said aperture; a transparent first overLay panel alsoformed of said particular plastic material and having first and secondprincipal surfaces, said second principal surface of said transparentfirst overlay panel abutting said first principal surface of said corepanel and one side of said double-sided photograph, and said firstprincipal surface of said first overlay panel forming one exposedsurface of said card; a second overlay panel also formed of saidparticular plastic material and having first and second principalsurfaces, said second principal surface of said second overlay panelabutting said second principal surface of said core panel and the otherside of said double-sided photograph, and said first principal surfaceof said second overlay panel forming the other exposed surface of saidcard; a first printed layer, including alphanumeric characters printedin ink in reverse, on said second principal surfaces of at least saidfirst overlay panel; and a second printed layer, including a continuouspattern of characters printed in reverse, printed over said firstprinted layer; said first and second overlay panels laminated to saidcore panel to form a substantially solid plastic card structureenclosing said double-sided photograph and said first and second printedlayers.
 2. An identification card as in claim 1 wherein: said secondprinted layer is printed with a suitable ink, said ink and said secondprinted layer adhering to at least one surface of said double-sidedphotograph.
 3. An identification card as in claim 2, wherein: said inkis magnetic ink.
 4. An identification card as in claim 2, wherein: saidink is flourescent ink.
 5. An identification card as in claim 2,wherein: said ink is radioactive ink.
 6. A process for producing anidentification card including the steps of: providing a core panel;punching an aperture into said core panel; assembling two photographs inback-to-back fashion; inserting said photographs in said aperture;providing a pair of transparent overlay panels, printing in reverse withink alphanumeric characters on one surface of at least one of saidtransparent overlay panels, printing in reverse with ink a continuouspattern of characters over said alphanumeric characters, positioningsaid transparent overlay panels so that said printed surface thereofabuts said core panel, and said continuous pattern of charactersoverlies at least one of said assembled photographs; and, laminatingsaid overlay panels to said core panel to form a substantially solidplastic card enclosing said assembled photographs and said printing.